Remembering Elder Richard G. Scott

(1928–2015)

Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles passed away on September 22, 2015, after a lifetime of following Heavenly Father’s will. He was 86 years old.

Richard grew up near Washington, D.C. He loved figuring out how mechanical things worked.

One summer he worked on an oyster boat. As he read the Book of Mormon on the deck, his testimony began to grow. Because of his good example, the crew trusted him. One night a crewmate asked him to save a man who had fallen overboard.

Richard studied mechanical engineering in college. He met and fell in love with Jeanene Watkins. She said she would only marry a returned missionary. He had not thought much about serving a mission before, but he prayed and decided to go. He served in Uruguay and married Jeanene in the Manti Utah Temple two weeks after he returned. They had seven children.

Some people said Richard wouldn’t find a job if he served a mission. But Richard was hired as an engineer for the first nuclear-powered submarine. He said, “The Lord blessed me as I put my priorities straight.”

Elder Scott always put doing the Lord’s work first. His family moved to Argentina when he became mission president, and they moved again to Mexico City when he was a Seventy. Elder Scott was sustained as an Apostle on October 1, 1988.

We can follow Elder Scott’s example by always doing what Heavenly Father wants us to do.